Tag: PracticeMethods練習方法

I know a lot of ABRSM grade 8 music exam students have trouble with their aural test preparation – they are really worried about taking this test and don’t know what to listen to and how to prepare for it!

Fear no more! I have decided to create a comprehensive aural test course specifically for ABRSM grade 8 purpose. And since it’s the same for ALL music instruments, it benefits every candidate taking the grade 8 music exam (not just piano students!).

In this course, I will teach you step by step – with a lot of detailed explanation and examples! – on how to listen to the music elements and know how to answer each part of the aural test accordingly, so that you as a grade 8 music exam candidate won’t be lost again! I know how frustrating it is to try to listen to the chords and cadences, or what exactly to talk about in terms of music features and styles! With proper training and guidance, I am sure you would feel confident in taking your grade 8 aural test!

The comprehensive grade 8 aural test course covers ALL aspects of the standardized test. I will definitely spend more time on A because I can see that’s the hardest part for most candidates judging from years of experience preparing students for the grade 8 music exam! But I still cover all parts of the test so you won’t be lost with Part D for example when it comes to talking about music you’ve never heard of before! When you know what you should be listening to though, you will have confidence in taking the grade 8 aural test like you’ve never had before!

The course has 10 lessons in total including 2 mock tests. You will get access to the course via phone or computer anytime you want with a unique login.

Stay tuned and I’ll update on this very very soon.

Of course if you want to sign up for the pre-sale, you will get it sooner than anyone else and get ready for the upcoming exam sooner! And did I mention you get a special discount for pre-sale sign up?

I get a lot of enquiries about playing by memory. Here are a few useful tips:

1. Mark out the sections and phrases
It’s important to know where a section / a phrase starts and ends – this practice is not only important for memorisation but also in practice and knowing the music more deeply and securely

2. Repeat in small doses
It’s a very useful tool to memorise a piece in small doses first especially if you are new to the practice. Start with one phrase and then two, gradually working up to a whole section. Then work on two sections and more eventually leading up to the whole movement/piece.

For example:
Repeat each phrase 5-10 times. Then two phrases 5-10 times. Then three phrases 5-10 times and so on.

It’s also great to try starting in the middle of a piece – a lot of times when performers have a slip of memory it’s never at the beginning of a piece or not even the beginning of a section/phrase. I encourage my students to start playing /memorising in the middle of the music to see if they can start and continue from there – I call them “safety stops”. It’s like taking a train: it starts and ends at big terminals, but it also travels through and pauses by many small stations / stops in between the whole journey to pick up and drop off passengers. So throughout the whole music journey (the music piece you are playing and memorising), you also need some musical stops to know where you are at currently. It helps you keep track of where you have been, where you are at, and where you are going, until the end.

For me I even memorised from the end back to the beginning just to test my memory of the piece. Most important of all, try to be creative about your memorisation process and think/practice outside of the box – remember, there is no one way to do it right for you, and often, those “weird” ways of doing one thing are THE ways to get you closer and faster towards your goal!

(Class 4/5 are subject to change if most of the teacher students are more inclined to prepare students for Trinity exams instead of ABRSM exams)

Course 2. How to improve your students’ technique

Class 1:

Piano playing and body utilization

Concept of Body weight and weight transfer

Class 2:

Application of body weight and weight transfer

Relation of body weight and weight transfer to arm/hand/finger movement

Class 3:

More elaboration on class 2 concepts

Weight training

Piano techniques

Class 4:

More on weight training and piano technique

Application and examples of different techniques

Class 5:

Student Project presentation: application of techniques with chosen music examples

Course 3. How to analyze and interpret advanced repertoire

Class 1:

General background of musical periods

General development of piano/keyboard instruments

Class 2:

Main genres and their characteristics of keyboard repertoire (Baroque and Classical)

Music examples: form, structure and analysis

Class 3:

Main genres and their characteristics of keyboard repertoire (Classical and Romantic)

Music examples: form, structure and analysis

Class 4:

More on genres and examples of keyboard repertoire

More on background and analysis of keyboard repertoire

Performance practice of each musical period in relation to the development and repertoire of the keyboard instrument

How to analyze and prepare a piece for performance and exam

Class 5:

Student Project presentation: application of knowledge learnt in the course with chosen piece of your own

Total Course time

5 hours

Each class duration

1 hour in total: 45 minutes’ lecture + 15 minutes’ Q & A session

Total fee per course

Original course fee: $3000

Special course fee for early bird enrolment: $2500

Deadline for early bird enrolment: September 8, 2017

Deadline for all enrolment: September 20, 2017

Commencement of courses (Class 1):

Course 1: September 22 Friday 11am

Course 2: September 21 Thursday 10am

Course 3: September 21 Thursday 11am

Note: We might have more course times if there are more students than open spaces in any of the courses and if students are unavailable at the schedule given above. Contact us directly to request more schedule details.

Payment method:

Pay via PayPal or bank transfer to our HSBC account. (Details will be given after your enrolment – 100% confirmation of your enrolment will be completed after we have received your payment)

We are also organizing a new course to train new teachers to teach Miss Wong’s piano technique method, so that you can train your students to become a more accomplished performer with avid interest in learning music and playing the piano with confidence, control and dexterity! Stay tuned for this course.